Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) has solidified its reputation as a leading university in Mindanao by being named a Center for Sustainable Polymers – the first of its kind in the country.
A sustainable polymer is a plastic material that can be used to produce a variety of commercial products that do not harm the environment, the health of consumers, or the economy.
MSU-IT was given the recognition in April by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) along with P107.3M in funding for the program and projects to be undertaken.
The designation of the University as a Center for Sustainable Polymers by DOST occurs under the agency’s new Niche Centers for Research and Development (NICER) Program.
The NICER Program aims to provide institutional grants to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for research and development capacity building to improve their science and technology infrastructure.
The program and projects of MSU-IIT as a Center for Sustainable Polymers will be implemented through a research team composed of faculty members from its College of Engineering and Technology (COET) and College of Science and Mathematics (CSM).
Dr. Arnold A. Lubguban, COET faculty member who has a doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Missouri, USA is the overall head of the Center’s program. Dr. Lubguban’s field of specialization is on polymer bioprocessing.
The team also has two project leaders, namely, Dr. Arnold C. Alguno, CSM faculty member who completed Doctor of Science in Physics in Tohoku University, Japan and who specializes in research in semiconductor and nanotechnology; and Dr. Ronald P. Bual, COET associate professor who finished Doctor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering at Kyushu University, Japan and whose areas of specialization are in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
The team’s study leader is Dr. Roberto M. Malaluan, COET faculty member who holds the degree Doctor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from Tohoku University of Japan. Dr. Malaluan specializes in research in supercritical fluid technology.
Funded by DOST-GIA/DOST-PCIEERD, the project implementation for the Center is slated to begin in the next few months.
According to the research team, MSU-IIT plays an important role in the government’s effort to develop Northern Mindanao as an innovation hub, as it has been developed to become a technopreneurial breeding ground. They said that Region 10 is abundant in coconut and fish processing waste and derivatives which can be used as raw materials for the research projects.
In a presentation by the research team on May 24, 2021 at the Knowledge and Technology Transfer Office (KTTO), the team showed Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol that with MSU-IIT becoming an R&D Center for Sustainable Polymers, it will address issues on high volume of by-products or derivatives from coconut processing, high volume of fish waste from fish processing facilities, and finite source of petroleum-based raw materials.
With MSU-IIT’s existing advanced polymer lab facility, expertise and with its good track record of R&D and IP management, the University, through the Center, hopes to utilize and optimize coconut processing derivatives and fish processing wastes to produce original research products which can be industrially-competitive. These diverse products include alternative bio-based polyols, polyurethane insulation and viscoelastic memory foams, oil-absorbing foams for wastewater treatment, polyurethane-modified concrete, fish-derived functional food supplements, and wound healing patches.
Expected outcomes of the said Center shall be increased production of high value products and increased coconut and fish productivity, as well as production of industry-compliant and cost-effective products with high market value.
MSU-IIT will be collaborating with other universities and agencies when implementing the Center’s projects, such as MSU-Naawan, MSU-General Santos, MSU-Marawi, Caraga State University, Ateneo de Davao University, Chemrez Technologies, Inc., URATEX Philippines, MERAV Bio-Nutraceuticals, Corp., Nuevochem Specialties, Inc., and Phoenix Petroleum.
Aside from MSU-IIT, six other HEIs were identified as NICER Program grantees for this year. These HEIs are the following:
Technological Institute of the Philippines – Center for Advanced Batteries
Isabela State University – Smart Water Infrastructure and Management
Mariano Marcos State University – Coastal Engineering Research Center
Polytechnic University of the Philippines – Center for Environmental Technologies and Compliance
Laguna State Polytechnic University – Center for Lakes Sustainable Development
De La Salle University – Laguna – Center for Vector of Diseases
The NICER is just one of four capacity-building programs that compose the Science for Change Program (S4CP). The S4CP is DOST’s larger program that was created to accelerate STI (science, technology, and innovation) in the country.
Mr. Jayson R. Pucot, MSU-IIT’s MS Biology student, Ms. Jea Christine Escala, BS Biology alumna, and Prof. Cesar G. Demayo, faculty member of the Department of Biological Sciences and the Project leader of the Climate Change Research Group of the Premier Research Institute of Science and Mathematics (PRISM) won the Best Paper award during the recently concluded International Conference on Research, Innovation, and Investment (ICRII).
Their paper entitled Phytochemical Screening, GC-MS Analysis and In vitro Pharmacological Investigations of Myristica simiarum A.DC Bark Ethanolic Extract is co-authored by Dr. Mark Lloyd Dapar, faculty member of the Department of Biology of the Central Mindanao University in Bukidnon.
The virtual international conference that was held on May 17-20, 2021 gathered more than 300 participants from different countries across the globe, such as Australia, China, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, Philippines, and Taiwan.
The country’s president, Hon. Rodrigo R. Duterte, gave his message during the conference’s Opening Ceremonies. Philippine Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri keynoted the Innovation and Investment Forum, and Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV, author of Innovative Startup Act, talked about investments in innovation and entrepreneurship in the conference.
Winners for the Best Paper, Best Presenter, and Most Number of Delegates (institutional level) were announced during the Awards Ceremony. The Best Paper awardees hope that their paper gets published in the Mindanao Journal of Science and Technology (MJST), a scientific journal published bi-annually by USTP and indexed by Scopus and Clarivate Analytics.
ICRII is an annual gathering of international and local researchers, innovators, investors, policymakers, and leaders who come together to address innovations, existing and emerging trends, best practices, and other developments in specific fields and pursue advanced research and innovation frameworks. The conference covered presentations on the following topics:
Food Security and Safety
Energy Sufficiency and Security
Information and Communication Technology
Industrial Development
Infrastructure and Transportation
Gender and Development
Science and Technology Education
Language and Communication
Social Science and Humanities
Natural Sciences
Mathematical Sciences
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The ICRII was hosted by the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) with this year’s theme The Emerging Role of Research, Innovation, and Investment in a Disruptive World.
The College of Nursing on May 28, 2021 completed the last of its three part webinar series on Optimizing the Value of Clinical Nursing Practice in the New Normal Transition.
The three part event was done in collaboration with the MSU-Marawi Main Campus and was conducted via Zoom meeting on May 15, 21, and 28, 2021.
Series 1 of the webinar was on Mental Health Training and had Argie Jamaica Rivera, DPN, MAN, RN as guest speaker, a Family Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at the Mohave Mental Health Clinic in Arizona, USA.
Rivera gave a thorough lecture about Psychopharmacology and Nursing Assessment in Psychiatry, sharing her experience as part of her initiative that she started early this year for constitutions in the Philippines, to assist Nurse Educators in terms of Related Learning Experiences.
Series 2 covered Care of Orthopedic Patients in the New Normal Setting and had, Christian Joshua Ruiz, RN as the resource person, a 2017 CON alumnus and currently a nurse practitioner at the Makati Medical Center.
Ruiz stressed the importance of having a good nursing foundation, developing that good clinical eye and coming up with a comprehensive Nursing Assessment when caring for patients.
Series 3 focused on Optimizing the Value of Clinical Nursing Practice: Neurological Nursing and had Anna Mae T. Maglinte, RN as guest speaker, a CON Alumna, and Clinical Practice Educator of The Princess Alexandra Hospital, UK.
Maglinte in her lecture shared interesting facts learned during this pandemic, of nurses and the nursing profession in that the presence of well supported and adequately trained staff is now seen as one of the most important resources in a health organization.
She compelled everyone in the profession to honor their contribution as a profession, by always striving for excellence in the practice of nursing using reflection and to always take care of one’s well-being through self-compassion and compassionate leadership.
Maglinte added that with the right impetus, nurses can step up to fill the gaps in the system, can be drivers of innovative change in the organization and the profession, and are capable of transforming the processes to meet the current demands.
The successful three-part Webinar Series was headed by CON’s Dr. Mae-Lanie O. Poblete, and along with other CON faculty, it was organized and conducted for the benefit of third year CON students taking up Psychiatric Nursing.
The extensive three part Webinar Series also had other CON nursing students in attendance and was also shared via Facebook livestream and in CON’s Webinar Series page.
Assoc. Prof. Sumaya, who teaches at the Department of Biological Sciences of MSU-IIT’s College of Science and Mathematics (CSM), will impart her professional and personal experiences of working in the field of nematology with her talk entitled Life after nematology graduate studies: making the most of every opportunity to learn, lead and serve during the Nematology Seminar Day 2021 that will be held on May 19, 2021.
Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) faculty member Assoc. Prof. Nanette Hope Sumaya’s talk will be one of the highlights in the Nematology Seminar Day 2021, an annual event organized by the Faculty of Science of Ghent University (UGent) in Ghent, Belgium, in association with Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad -Universitaire Ontwikkelingssamenwerking (VLIR-UOS), Nematology Education in Sub-Sahara Africa (NEMEDUSSA), and the Eramus + Programme of the European Union.
This year, the seminar focuses talks about life after getting a degree in Nematology and career development. A workshop on “Let’s talk Gender!’’ will also take place in the afternoon.
Assoc. Prof. Sumaya, an alumna of International MSc in Agro- and Environmental Nematology (IMaNema), formerly known as Postgraduate International Nematology Course or PINC, was invited by IMaNema of UGent to speak to students at Auditorium 6 of Campus Ledeganck, 04.10 – L2.
Aside from Assoc. Prof. Sumaya’s talk, the event will also feature talks of other invited speakers, namely, Mrs. Lirette M. Taning of ILVO and UGent (Faculty of Biotechnology); Dr. Annika Pieterse of Nemlab/ Stellenbosch University in South Africa; Mr. David Pires of MED/University of Évora & INIAV in Portugal; Dr. Sidy Diakhate of Green Agro Consulting in Sénégal; Mrs. Lilian Mendoza, the Director of the Human Resources Department of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria; and Dr. Gundula Fisher, a social scientist and gender expert from IITA-CGIAR.
The Seminar Day, which is organized in the frame of the Summer Course: Networking and Seminars for the IMaNema students, is also open to the public and can be followed online.
AS INDUSTRY 4.0 revolutionizes the creative capability of designers through the adoption of technologies in the design process, the Design Center of the Philippines (DCP), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, has recently emphasized leveraging on the shared strengths of humans and machines to create new dimensions in human-machine collaboration.
In response to this challenge, DCP has implemented the Digital Artisans Program, a 3-month program in partnership with different FAB LABs across the country with a focus on the utilization of technologies and tools found in fabrication laboratories in supporting and underlining the importance of the artisanal discipline in the digital age.
The Mindanao Digital Artisans included Reinna Kris Calo, Tzaddi Esguerra, Nathalie Mariano, and Michael Bacol who received mentoring from the Dean of SoFA Design Institute, Architect Tobias Guggenheimer, as well as assistance from MSU-IIT’s FAB LAB Mindanao.
With funding from the Department of Trade and Industry- Region 10, the Mindanao Digital Artisans along with FAB LAB Mindanao Manager, Assoc. Prof. Lemuel Clark Velasco, presented The Modest Messiah installation during the recently conducted Manila FAME on October 17-19, 2019 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
During the culmination and round table discussion on the program’s assessment, Velasco highlighted the transformative experience both by the digital artisans as well as the FAB LAB staff during the design and fabrication process. The Institute’s priority in both product and process innovation is made real in the implementation of relevant collaborative projects like the Digital Artisans Program which aims to capacitate communities in Industry 4.0 responsive skills.
New faculty members of the different colleges and schools of the institute participated in a three-day Seminar-Workshop on Pedagogy on August 24-26, 2009 at CED Amphitheater. The said activity was made possible by the joint effort of the institute’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) and the College of Education (CED).
Proficient and knowledgeable mentors of the College of Education, namely; Dr. Josefina M. Tabudlong, Dr. Adelfa C. Silor, Dr. Rizalina G. Gomez, Prof. Shelanee Theresa P. Peralta-Ruales, Prof. Amelia T. Buan, Prof. Rhea D. Febro, Prof. Esmar N. Sedurifa, Dr. Felicidad M. del Socorro, and Prof. Rebecca S. Galela, served as speakers of the different pedagogical areas. Other faculty members and staff of the college also helped in facilitating the series of activities throughout the seminar-workshop.
It has been a practice of the institute to hold this kind of training especially for novice teachers and for new faculty recruits of the institute in order to strengthen the quality of teachers and ensure systematic and effective instruction.
